Royals acted swiftly to banish wayward Andrew — but is there more to come?

How many headlines can one man make? That is what Andrew has become — a human headline

There are claims that Andrew brought prostitutes to his luxury hotel while 'working' on behalf of the British government. Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA 

For an institution that normally moves at the speed of a glacier, the British royal family has suddenly looked like Usain Bolt over these past few days.

Swift decision-making is not something they have ever been good at, and yet the sheer scale of the Andrew problem has forced them to give the Mafia a run for their money in terms of ruthlessness.

The ‘bullet’ from Charles came in the form of a 109-word statement, chillingly cold, blunt, and highly effective. 

It rapidly removed everything that Andrew had cherished for all of his massively entitled life. 

Its announcement on a BBC flagship current affairs show brought rapturous applause from the studio audience.

My question now is, what do the royals know that we don’t?

The biographer Andrew Lownie has repeatedly hinted in interviews that there is more to come about the king’s brother. 

Some of it will, no doubt, involve women, his many taxpayer-funded trips abroad while ‘working’ as a trade envoy for the UK, and some of it will focus on the financial side.

Lownie told a podcast on Friday that in 2001, Charles had urged against giving Andrew that role because he believed his wayward brother would use it to “line his pockets” and just “chase women and play golf”. 

The prime minister at the time, Tony Blair, overruled the then-prince Charles. And the rest is history.

History repeating itself

But history has an awkward habit of repeating itself, and here they are, the Windsors.

Lownie claims that Andrew had 40 prostitutes brought to his luxury hotel over the course of four days, all while supposedly representing the UK and ‘working’ on behalf of the British government.

Just how many headlines can one man make? And that is what Andrew has become — a human headline.

He will now leave Royal Lodge, a sumptuous 30-room mansion in the grounds of Windsor Great Park, and move to a much smaller property on the Sandringham estate.

A couple of factors have played out to stunning effect here over the last few days. 

The lease agreement on Royal Lodge, ending up in the hands of a journalist, showed the British public that while they have been working, paying taxes and struggling to pay mortgages and bills, Andrew hasn’t paid any rent for all of his adult life.

The other is the future of Andrew’s two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. Did he agree to leave Royal Lodge in return for them keeping their ‘princess’ titles? 

Up until last week, it really did look like Andrew would have to be dragged out of that mansion, kicking and screaming.

So what will his new life in Sandringham look like? 

I’ve been there a few times over the years, covering various royal family mishaps (Harry shooting two rare birds with his pal, Prince Philip nearly killing a family when he overshot a rural road near the estate), and I’d describe the place in one word. Bleak.

Sandringham is a punishment

There’s not a lot going on in Sandringham or around it, to be blunt. And that’s why Charles is dumping his brother there. It’s a punishment.

Norfolk is a large and beautiful county, but it’s remote and far from any of the bright lights and shiny things that interest Andrew. 

I remember it once took me five hours to drive there from the Sky News studio in west London. I don’t remember there being any solid stretch of motorway in that part of England.

The royal estate employs around 200 local people, and they are very loyal to their paymasters, but I would imagine even their loyalty has worn thin when it comes to the behaviour of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Imagine having to be the staff on duty when Andrew and his removal van arrive next week!

His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, won’t be going with him and will now make “her own living arrangements”, according to a Palace source. Well done, Sarah! 

A full 29 years after they got divorced, she’s now heading out into the world by herself. What a time to be alive.

I’m curious about the role Prince William has had in all of this recent royal haste. He’s the sharpest of the Windsors and is keenly aware of public sentiment because he actually talks to real people, unlike his errant uncle Andrew.

No doubt the prince told his father that he wanted this dealt with now and not whenever he takes the throne. 

It should be noted that a good 10 days ago, there were briefings that Andrew and Sarah Ferguson will not be invited to William’s coronation, when that day comes.

An awkward tension was clear between Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (then the duke of York) and the Prince of Wales at the Duchess of Kent's funeral at Westminster Cathedral. Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA 

As much as the late Queen Elizabeth II is still revered and nobody ever says a bad word about her in Britain, she royally messed up with her response to the allegations swirling around her so-called ‘favourite son’. 

She buried her head in the sand, avoided the newspapers and only lifted her head when she was asked to find £12m to settle out of court with Virginia Giuffre. What a conversation that must have been.

That was some inheritance to pass on to Charles. To his credit, he has dealt with it. But is this really the end? 

Journalists are digging into the affairs of a man who is remembered by British diplomats in the Middle East as 'his buffoon highness'.

I give Andrew 12 months maximum at Sandringham before he either goes abroad of his own volition or is forced out of the UK completely by even more lurid headlines.

• Enda Brady is a journalist and broadcaster